VGP – Party General Secretary, State President Nguyen PhuTrong and PM Nguyen Xuan Phuc on January 2 extended messages of condolences to Philippine President Rodrigo Roa Duterte over human and property losses caused by storm Usman.

In the messages, the Vietnamese senior leaders expressed sympathy and sent deep condolences to the Philippine leaders and people over human and property losses caused by the storm, expressing their hope that the Philippine people will quickly overcome the consequences and difficulties to soon stabilize their lives.

In its latest official update, the agency said the death toll had climbed to 75 with a further 12 people injured.

At least 16 others are still missing in the regions of Bicol and Eastern Visayas, officials said.

The storm affected nearly 190,000 people, officials said, with dozens of areas facing power outages as a result of infrastructure damage. As many as 69 houses were damaged, with 41 of those totally destroyed.